Tuesday, October 11, 2011

This recipe combines two types of cheese, black and green olives, lemon, a touch of thyme + a delicious topping in only one pasta dish, which turned out fantastic; I guess I should rename it and call it “Steven Soderbergh pasta” – after all, who besides him can gather so many stars in onesinglemovie? I can only think of the late Altman.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain, reserving 2 tablespoons of the cooking water. Return pasta to the saucepan with reserved water.
While pasta is cooking, combine olive oil, onion and garlic in a saucepan over medium-high heat and sauté until very tender and starting to caramelize. Transfer to a large bowl and cool slightly. Add the ricotta, feta, olives, lemon zest and juice and thyme and mix. Season to taste. Add the pasta and mix well. Transfer to a lightly oiled 1 quarter (1 liter) capacity baking dish.
Make the olive breadcrumbs: combine the breadcrumbs, the olives, the olive oil and the lemon zest in a small bowl. Season to taste. Spread evenly over the pasta mixture and bake until bubbling and golden (15-20 minutes). Serve hot.